First Semester Projects
The first semester is winding up at AALC and students at all levels were active in the gardens and other green spaces of our community.
Early Primary students planted the center of their garden space with a large bed of bulbs donated by families. Tulip bulbs (along with the noble dandelion) are among the first flowers available to pollinators in the spring. The kindergartners and first graders have also been writing in their garden observation journals. They charted what the butterfly and pollinator gardens looked like at the start of the school year and compared its appearance after there was a hard frost. They have plans to write and draw what the gardens look like under snow and watch for the first signs of their bulbs to grow.
Primary students harvested their vegetable beds eating salad greens and potatoes. In addition to overwintering crops and planning for spring planting, they are also conducting a census of the miles AALC students travel to and from school each day. Their goal is to plant trees in the spring to help offset the carbon-dioxide pollution produced by their daily commutes.
Intermediate gardeners reshaped their garden space and created a maze of pallets that will be planted in the spring. They also used herbs and flowers out of their garden to make a calendula-infused oil for skin and an herb-infused olive oil for cooking. Special thanks to AALC parent Lisa Mayne for helping students learn how to infuse oils.
The middle schoolers were thankful for the extended warm weather as it allowed them to complete AALC’s first ever hugelkultur. A hugelkultur has been described as nature’s raised bed because it mimics the decomposition and rebirth of the forest floor. Middle schoolers piled wood logs, branches and brush from school grounds, and the overflow from the school’s compost bins into a long bed bordering the hoop house. This was then covered with several layers of dirt and straw. As the wood decomposes, it creates a rich organic growing medium that retains water and is warmer than surrounding soil. They’ll be planting it in the spring with some annual cover crops and perennial food plants. Hugulkulturs are super fun to build and plant, especially with young gardeners. Read more about how to build one in your homespace at http://inhabitat.com/diy-hugelkultur-how-build-raised-permaculture-garden-beds/.
As we wait and plan for spring, students will be busy conducting the indoor plant census and plant drive which aims to make sure AALC has an indoor plant or live element for every 50 square feet of space. Look for the display at the school entrance to watch our progress.
